Steeler (G.I. Joe)

Steeler
G.I. Joe character
Steeler as seen in the Sunbow/Marvel G.I. Joe cartoon.
First appearance	1982
Voiced by	Chris Latta (Sunbow/Marvel) Eddie Mata (Renegades)
Affiliation	G.I. Joe
Specialty	Tank Commander
File name	Pulaski, Ralph W.
Birth place	Pittsburgh, PA
SN	RA035336098
Rank	O-2 (First Lieutenant)
Primary MOS	Armor
Secondary MOS	Artillery, Transportation

Steeler is a fictional character from the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toyline, comic books and cartoon series. He is the G.I. Joe Team's original tank commander and debuted in 1982.

His real name is Ralph W. Pulaski, and his rank is that of Army 1st lieutenant O-2. His original rank was O-1 or 2nd Lieutenant. Steeler was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

His primary military specialty is armor officer and his secondary military specialties are artillery and transportation officer (88A). Steeler comes from a blue collar middle-class background. He put himself through college on an ROTC scholarship and worked as a heavy equipment operator before enlistment. Graduated top of class from Armor School at Fort Knox, and received special training as part of the Cadre X-AFV Project at the Aberdeen Proving Ground, artillery school at Fort Sill, AFV Desert Exercise at Fort Hood, and the Covert Ops school at Langley. Steeler is proficient with all NATO and Warsaw Pact AFVs, and is a qualified expert with the M-16, M1911A1 Auto Pistol, the MAC-10 and the Uzi submachine gun.

Steeler was originally a tank commander for the "M.O.B.A.T." tank (Multi-Ordnance Battle Assault Tank). He is young and reckless, and often clashes with authority (including superior officers). He often challenges teammates to physical endurance tasks; he respects people more this way.

Steeler was first released in 1982, packaged with the MOBAT (Motorized Battle Tank). In 2004, Steeler was released as part of a three-pack of figures, the others being General Flagg and a Cobra Officer. It was packaged with a reprint of issue #5 of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, in which all three were featured. In 2007, Steeler had a release as part of the International G.I. Joe convention, which took place in Atlanta, Georgia.